Johann Zarco continued his dazzling form aboard the Yamaha YZR-M1 in his third race in the premier class to finish 5th at the Circuit of The Americas today. The French rider leapt forward from the middle of the second row of the grid and quickly stuck into a formidable rhythm as he battled against the vastly experienced Grand Prix winners at the front of the field. Eventually, Zarco powered across the finish line in 5th with the result moving him to 7th in the standings. Meanwhile, Jonas Folger fought relentlessly in the gruelling 21 lap sprint in Austin, Texas to seize 11th and seal another solid point scoring result. The young German fully intends to break back into the top ten at the next round in Spain at the Circuito de Jerez in a fortnight.

Johann ZARCO - Position: 5th - Championship: 7th- Points: 22

"I am really happy with the result but the start of the race was tricky and it was not easy to get into a good position at the first turn. However, I felt great on my Yamaha so I started attacking from the third corner, and I was quickly able to overtake my opponents and get into 5th. I wanted to follow the top group so I pushed to stay close to Valentino and I was able to fight with him, which was fantastic. We came very close at one point because I had a bit more speed than him in the third corner, and maybe it was a bit too tight but fortunately, nothing serious happened and he went on to finish second. I really didn’t want to cause a problem for Vale and I know that I can learn a lot from him so luckily, we both recovered. After this, I continued to do my best and at the end of the sprint, Crutchlow was slightly faster, but nevertheless, 5th is just awesome and I am pleased because the podium was close today."



Jonas FOLGER - Position: 11th - Championship: 8th- Points: 21

"It was a tough race and I did my best, but I’m a little bit disappointed, to be honest. However, there are always positives and today, we were just 18 seconds back from the top, plus six seconds behind Dovizioso who finished 6th which is good. Having said that, I made some mistakes in the GP, especially when the bike started to get lighter due to the decreasing fuel load. I was not able to adapt as well as I did in the last GP, and that’s when I lost some positions. Now we have to analyse everything and see how we can move forward. We learnt a lot again this weekend but I have to be able to set the bike up better in the practices and be stronger in the fight. I have scored points in all three races so far, and this is pleasing, but once you reach a certain position, your goals get higher and I aim to make a step up. We know what we can do and we realise that 6th could have been ours if we worked more effectively in the practice. Anyway, I will focus now on the next round in Jerez where I am sure that I can finish in a stronger position."

Hervé PONCHARAL - Team manager

"The weekend ended positively for the Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team and now it’s time to head back to Europe. Johann Zarco had another incredible Grand Prix and he quickly made up the places he lost at the first corner. By the end of the opening lap, he was 5th before he closed in on Valentino. Then, he stayed with Vale for two-thirds of the race, which is quite an achievement and we must not forget that Johann is a rookie even if he is really strong. He said that he made a few small mistakes so he needs to understand how to adapt his riding style for when the fuel load decreases but this is part of the learning process and we are more than on schedule with our plans. The 5th position today was much more rewarding than the Argentina result because no one crashed in front of us and Johann keeps getting quicker so it was a superb job by him and his whole crew. On the other side of the garage, Jonas also had a solid race. However, we can see that at the moment he doesn’t quite have the aggression early on in the race that his teammate does. Jonas ran some laps at the same pace, or sometimes even quicker than Johann, but it was not regular enough. Anyway, it was another point scoring finish and his results so far have been good and he is 8th in the championship with Johann in 7th. They are both just a few points behind Dovizioso in the standings and in addition, we are third in the team championship and the best independent team. We can be proud of what Johann, Jonas and the crew have achieved at the first three races and now we will fly back to Europe where you can be sure that we will put on another exciting show at Jerez."